Monday, 25 July 2011

Murdoch's tentacles

The judge leading the inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal was last night urged to 'come clean' about his links to the Murdoch family.

Lord Justice Leveson was facing questions over his impartiality after it emerged he attended two parties in the past year at the London home of Rupert Murdoch's daughter, Elisabeth, and her husband, PR supremo Matthew Freud.

In his role as chairman of the independent Sentencing Council, he is also reported to have had dinner last year with Mr Freud to discuss an offer from Freud Communications to give free PR advice on improving public confidence in the criminal justice system.

Labour MP Chris Bryant last night said the revelations raised 'serious questions' about whether Lord Justice Leveson would be able to command public confidence in his role as head of the inquiry, which is likely to take evidence from Mr Murdoch and his son James.

Lord Justice Leveson is believed to have informed David Cameron of his social links to Mr Freud before he was appointed to lead the inquiry.

But Mr Bryant said the judge was ‘compromised’ by the revelations.

He added: ‘I’m afraid this does raise serious questions and he does now need to come clean about exactly who he met and what they discussed.

‘He may well be very independent but the way this has come out makes it look as if he has got something to cover up.’

A spokesman for Lord Leveson confirmed he attended ‘large evening events’ at Mr Freud’s home in July last year and January this year. But he declined to say who the judge had met, and added that there was ‘no continuing relationship’.

Of all the judges in the UK, Mr Cameron had to choose one with links to the Murdochs?

Everywhere you look, there's a Murdoch fingerprint: in the Police, in the government and now the judge in charge of the public inquiry into the Murdoch scandal has links to the family!

I said there was another surprise about the scandal, but I'm not surprised at all...

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